Ground Zero
You grab another TV and sit quietly by yourself in a separate office, watching world events unfold and get worse before your eyes as your co-workers reenact something out of a porno movie. You block out the sounds of ecstasy and turn up the TV. You're starting to wonder if you shouldn't have just stayed home, or better yet bought that damn bomb shelter
Just then someone else comes in to disturb your solitude. It's Marina.
"Oh. I didn't know anyone was in here. I thought everyone was at the orgy." She says.
"So did I um how come you aren't?" you ask nervously.
"Eh not really my thing, how come you aren't?"
"Same here."
"I see so what are you doing to pass the time?"
"Keeping up on events to see if things will change for the better."
"Ah an optimist eh?"
"Not really, I think I just get a kick out of living in a fantasy world and delusions to make myself feel better that and I have a morbid fascination of the utter chaos that's occurring throughout the world right now."
"Hmm, interesting approach to life I've always noticed you seem to keep to yourself. You like solitude don't you?"
"It's easier."
"Yet, you stayed here for the end."
"Yeah, and I'm really wishing I hadn't now, I can't mix with anyone here. Never could. Not even on the primal level that everyone seems to be favoring right now. I don't know why I thought things would change in the end ah fuck it the world's gonna end and it's probably a good thing if our co-workers are an example of humanity. Still I kind of wish I bought that bomb shelter "
"So you don't want to die?"
"Of course not! I just don't really see how to avoid it at this point."
"Well, for starters you could come with me; I'm getting ready to leave the city. It seems like things have died down for the most part out there, hopefully nobody's vandalized or stolen either of our vehicles." Marina suggests.
"What? Leave? And go where? It's not like there's any place really safe to go at this late stage."
"Sure there is. Look, I'll level with you, since you seem to be the only one here that's different. I stayed around here to see if there was anyone who was worthy enough to be saved, and apart from you, it pretty much looks like I wasted my time."
"Save? What do you mean?"
"Well despite the fact that you kept to yourself and never took any interest in any of the private lives of your co-workers doesn't we don't have them." Marina laughs. "But like you I never really mixed with any of our co-workers either, however unlike you I do have a very active social life filled with people who are close like a family, people who live clean and have a strong sense of freedom and who have been preparing for this day ever since the Commies started the first Cold War. You don't have to die and you don't have to be alone anymore. Come with me, you'll be accepted as long as you're willing to work hard and from what I know, you aren't averse to doing that."
You're not entirely sure of what Marina has in store for you, but it sounds better than staying here waiting to die. You agree to leave with her. You both make your way past the mass of naked bodies and head immediately to the parking structure. Unfortunately Marina's car is gone, it's been predictably stolen in the looting frenzy during the city exodus; however your old van is perfectly fine. It hasn't even been vandalized, of course the thing looks like it's already been vandalized which is probably why nobody bothered to steal it. You both get in the van and you drive while Marina tells you where you're going.
While you're driving through the city, you keep expecting to be attacked by lawless hold outs still lingering in the city or open fired on by Nation Guardsman, but you suspect either they were ordered to pull out to reinforce a more important city or most of them abandoned their "job" long ago when they realized the futility of it. You make your way out of the city with no problems. Of course now you're just wondering if you're just going to get nuked at any second. You listen to the radio to keep up on events, which is more of the same that you were watching on TV. Eventually Marina turns it off and tells you not to worry about the old world anymore, a new one is going to be built.
Your drive takes you far from the city, where ever Marina's leading you it's even further than where you live and you lived pretty way out. You drive through the night and into next morning; while Marina's asleep you turn the radio back on and keep it on low
Monday 8:00 AM
" BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE "
The radio suddenly stops broadcasting anything except a loud warning sound; it wakes up Marina before you can turn it off. Seeing her current surroundings, Marina hastily tells you to turn at a dirty road that's coming up, which then leads into a wooden gate. Looks like a compound of some sort, where a man is standing guard with an assault rifle. Marina gets out and talks to him a moment, to which he nods his head and opens the gate.
As soon as you drive in another woman comes running out of one of the many log cabin like structures in the compound. She immediately starts talking to Marina through the passenger window.
"Marina! Thank God you're here! We thought you were dead! Come on we gotta get down into the underground, its beginning!"
Wasting no time Marina and you follow the woman into the cabin and down into a trap door in the floor. You find yourself in a wide tunnel with dim electrical lighting to what looks like a pretty elaborate underground complex. Marina and the woman are running ahead of you, but you can't help but stare in wonder of all this.
"Holy shit, they really were working on this since the Cold War " you say to yourself as you slow down to examine everything.
Then it happens. You hear a loud noise above and you fall to the ground due to the tremors. Then all the lighting goes out. You attempt to get back up and try to feel the walls to get your bearings. You don't know where the hell you're going, but you can hear voices and shouting; some of it close and some of it far away. You have no idea where the hell you're at, let alone the layout of this place. Instead of getting yourself lost, you decide to just stay put until the lighting comes back on; surely they probably have an emergency generator that will kick in soon.
The lighting suddenly comes on and you're just in time to see Marina and a man dressed fatigues arrive on your position.
"Are you alright?" Marina asks you.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
No sooner do you get out those words when the man in military fatigues begins giving you the hard stare.
"I've heard about you before from Marina, but don't think that hiding behind her skirt is gonna give you a fuckin' free pass in this place! You better prepared to pull your goddamn weight everyday! I catch you slipping and you're outta here!"
"What the hell? I didn't say anything!"
"And you better not say any fuckin' thing either if you don't wanna get on my bad side! The Colonel doesn't like slack offs in his compound and neither do I! So if you intend on staying here, you better get REAL used to the idea of getting your head outta your fuckin' ass and living like a real fuckin' person instead of the goddamn disgusting parasitic shit maggot you are!"
You're about to reply to GI Jerk, but Marina stops you and insists on taking you to your room, leaving Harry to his own devices.
"Alright Marina, what the hell was all that about, and who's full metal asshole back there?"
"That was Harry, and don't pay any attention to him, he's just really gung ho and is second in command around here. The Colonel is the one who runs this place. He's actually a more even tempered man than Harry is."
Marina and you arrive at a small room by itself at the end of one of the corridors.
"Well here's the room you'll be staying for now. Things might change mind you, but rest assured this is the safest place you could be right now. We've prepared for this day and will definitely survive the aftermath of what's to come, and now you will too."
Marina leaves with a smile, but you don't really share her optimism, given the fact that Armageddon has just happened. That reality has only just now sunk in that the world is probably one big radioactive desert at this point.
Then again, Marina might be right, this place is probably safer than most and its better than being dead. At least you hope it is. You lie down on the bed provided and fall asleep; surprisingly it's the best rest you've experienced before the bombs dropped.
A few weeks pass and you get acquainted with the compound. You and most of the others are to remain underground while until some scouts in radiation suits determine if the radiation level is low enough. In the mean time you're forced to do extensive combat training like everyone else. Most of the people are okay with you, even though you're an outsider. Harry gives you a hard time though. Still, you're probably in the best shape of your life and you got to brush up on your aim. Sometimes you get to spend time with Marina, funny how you find it easier to talk to her now. One day you finally see the Colonel you've been hearing about, he gives a speech to all of you in the cafeteria.
"Well, I've been informed that the surface part of our compound only suffered minor damage and that the radiation level is fairly low all things considering anyway we all knew this day would come, and we would be prepared for it, but we can't just sit on our asses hoping things will be alright! NO! We must take a proactive approach if we have to survive! As we speak, there are probably low lives scavenging the shell of the old world, we must secure as many abandoned resources as we can to ensure our future and some of you will be sent out into the world to do just that for the good of the compound. We're going to tame this new world and rebuild a new society! You have undergone rigorous training before hand, to ensure you will be able to survive the dangers. Now I'll be accepting volunteers first."
Just then someone else comes in to disturb your solitude. It's Marina.
"Oh. I didn't know anyone was in here. I thought everyone was at the orgy." She says.
"So did I um how come you aren't?" you ask nervously.
"Eh not really my thing, how come you aren't?"
"Same here."
"I see so what are you doing to pass the time?"
"Keeping up on events to see if things will change for the better."
"Ah an optimist eh?"
"Not really, I think I just get a kick out of living in a fantasy world and delusions to make myself feel better that and I have a morbid fascination of the utter chaos that's occurring throughout the world right now."
"Hmm, interesting approach to life I've always noticed you seem to keep to yourself. You like solitude don't you?"
"It's easier."
"Yet, you stayed here for the end."
"Yeah, and I'm really wishing I hadn't now, I can't mix with anyone here. Never could. Not even on the primal level that everyone seems to be favoring right now. I don't know why I thought things would change in the end ah fuck it the world's gonna end and it's probably a good thing if our co-workers are an example of humanity. Still I kind of wish I bought that bomb shelter "
"So you don't want to die?"
"Of course not! I just don't really see how to avoid it at this point."
"Well, for starters you could come with me; I'm getting ready to leave the city. It seems like things have died down for the most part out there, hopefully nobody's vandalized or stolen either of our vehicles." Marina suggests.
"What? Leave? And go where? It's not like there's any place really safe to go at this late stage."
"Sure there is. Look, I'll level with you, since you seem to be the only one here that's different. I stayed around here to see if there was anyone who was worthy enough to be saved, and apart from you, it pretty much looks like I wasted my time."
"Save? What do you mean?"
"Well despite the fact that you kept to yourself and never took any interest in any of the private lives of your co-workers doesn't we don't have them." Marina laughs. "But like you I never really mixed with any of our co-workers either, however unlike you I do have a very active social life filled with people who are close like a family, people who live clean and have a strong sense of freedom and who have been preparing for this day ever since the Commies started the first Cold War. You don't have to die and you don't have to be alone anymore. Come with me, you'll be accepted as long as you're willing to work hard and from what I know, you aren't averse to doing that."
You're not entirely sure of what Marina has in store for you, but it sounds better than staying here waiting to die. You agree to leave with her. You both make your way past the mass of naked bodies and head immediately to the parking structure. Unfortunately Marina's car is gone, it's been predictably stolen in the looting frenzy during the city exodus; however your old van is perfectly fine. It hasn't even been vandalized, of course the thing looks like it's already been vandalized which is probably why nobody bothered to steal it. You both get in the van and you drive while Marina tells you where you're going.
While you're driving through the city, you keep expecting to be attacked by lawless hold outs still lingering in the city or open fired on by Nation Guardsman, but you suspect either they were ordered to pull out to reinforce a more important city or most of them abandoned their "job" long ago when they realized the futility of it. You make your way out of the city with no problems. Of course now you're just wondering if you're just going to get nuked at any second. You listen to the radio to keep up on events, which is more of the same that you were watching on TV. Eventually Marina turns it off and tells you not to worry about the old world anymore, a new one is going to be built.
Your drive takes you far from the city, where ever Marina's leading you it's even further than where you live and you lived pretty way out. You drive through the night and into next morning; while Marina's asleep you turn the radio back on and keep it on low
Monday 8:00 AM
" BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE "
The radio suddenly stops broadcasting anything except a loud warning sound; it wakes up Marina before you can turn it off. Seeing her current surroundings, Marina hastily tells you to turn at a dirty road that's coming up, which then leads into a wooden gate. Looks like a compound of some sort, where a man is standing guard with an assault rifle. Marina gets out and talks to him a moment, to which he nods his head and opens the gate.
As soon as you drive in another woman comes running out of one of the many log cabin like structures in the compound. She immediately starts talking to Marina through the passenger window.
"Marina! Thank God you're here! We thought you were dead! Come on we gotta get down into the underground, its beginning!"
Wasting no time Marina and you follow the woman into the cabin and down into a trap door in the floor. You find yourself in a wide tunnel with dim electrical lighting to what looks like a pretty elaborate underground complex. Marina and the woman are running ahead of you, but you can't help but stare in wonder of all this.
"Holy shit, they really were working on this since the Cold War " you say to yourself as you slow down to examine everything.
Then it happens. You hear a loud noise above and you fall to the ground due to the tremors. Then all the lighting goes out. You attempt to get back up and try to feel the walls to get your bearings. You don't know where the hell you're going, but you can hear voices and shouting; some of it close and some of it far away. You have no idea where the hell you're at, let alone the layout of this place. Instead of getting yourself lost, you decide to just stay put until the lighting comes back on; surely they probably have an emergency generator that will kick in soon.
The lighting suddenly comes on and you're just in time to see Marina and a man dressed fatigues arrive on your position.
"Are you alright?" Marina asks you.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
No sooner do you get out those words when the man in military fatigues begins giving you the hard stare.
"I've heard about you before from Marina, but don't think that hiding behind her skirt is gonna give you a fuckin' free pass in this place! You better prepared to pull your goddamn weight everyday! I catch you slipping and you're outta here!"
"What the hell? I didn't say anything!"
"And you better not say any fuckin' thing either if you don't wanna get on my bad side! The Colonel doesn't like slack offs in his compound and neither do I! So if you intend on staying here, you better get REAL used to the idea of getting your head outta your fuckin' ass and living like a real fuckin' person instead of the goddamn disgusting parasitic shit maggot you are!"
You're about to reply to GI Jerk, but Marina stops you and insists on taking you to your room, leaving Harry to his own devices.
"Alright Marina, what the hell was all that about, and who's full metal asshole back there?"
"That was Harry, and don't pay any attention to him, he's just really gung ho and is second in command around here. The Colonel is the one who runs this place. He's actually a more even tempered man than Harry is."
Marina and you arrive at a small room by itself at the end of one of the corridors.
"Well here's the room you'll be staying for now. Things might change mind you, but rest assured this is the safest place you could be right now. We've prepared for this day and will definitely survive the aftermath of what's to come, and now you will too."
Marina leaves with a smile, but you don't really share her optimism, given the fact that Armageddon has just happened. That reality has only just now sunk in that the world is probably one big radioactive desert at this point.
Then again, Marina might be right, this place is probably safer than most and its better than being dead. At least you hope it is. You lie down on the bed provided and fall asleep; surprisingly it's the best rest you've experienced before the bombs dropped.
A few weeks pass and you get acquainted with the compound. You and most of the others are to remain underground while until some scouts in radiation suits determine if the radiation level is low enough. In the mean time you're forced to do extensive combat training like everyone else. Most of the people are okay with you, even though you're an outsider. Harry gives you a hard time though. Still, you're probably in the best shape of your life and you got to brush up on your aim. Sometimes you get to spend time with Marina, funny how you find it easier to talk to her now. One day you finally see the Colonel you've been hearing about, he gives a speech to all of you in the cafeteria.
"Well, I've been informed that the surface part of our compound only suffered minor damage and that the radiation level is fairly low all things considering anyway we all knew this day would come, and we would be prepared for it, but we can't just sit on our asses hoping things will be alright! NO! We must take a proactive approach if we have to survive! As we speak, there are probably low lives scavenging the shell of the old world, we must secure as many abandoned resources as we can to ensure our future and some of you will be sent out into the world to do just that for the good of the compound. We're going to tame this new world and rebuild a new society! You have undergone rigorous training before hand, to ensure you will be able to survive the dangers. Now I'll be accepting volunteers first."